Much ado has been made during the current election about those among us that depend on government support. Conservatives don’t think this is a proper function for government. Liberals disagree.
There is a misguided notion perpetuated by the wealthy that the poor have no one to thank but themselves for their plight. The inference is clear. They are lazy, stupid and inept. Why should tax dollars be used to help them. They don’t even pay taxes. Let them help themselves just as the wealthy have done. If they really wanted a job they would be able to find one.
The truth is that all of them want a job. Not just any job, but a job with a living wage. I don’t see how anyone can support themselves of less than minimum wage.
Our country is in the midst of a severe recession. What caused this recession and who is responsible? The better paying manufacturing jobs seem to have migrated to Asia as labor is cheap there and there are more profits to be made. Fancy foot work by Wall Street profiteers brought our financial system to it’s knees. The entire world was rocked as a result.
Just these two things alone can be responsible for a great deal of our distress. Unemployment is rampant and just exactly who is responsible? It would appear that in our great effort to make more and more profits we have knocked Humpty Dumpty right off the wall. Now we are having some trouble putting him back together again.
The question that is begging to be asked is who among us benefits the most from government handouts. Seems to me that the wealthy got the better part of the Bush tax cuts and that government policy clearly favors wealthy corporations, Wall Street and the banking industry.
I could be wrong, but I suspect that it was these industries that got the most help from government over the last 12 years. Yes, we spend a lot on entitlements for the less fortunate, but it is a pittance compared to the money spent bailing out Wall Street, banks and big corporations.
I didn’t like the idea of the “bail out,” but I supported it because I was afraid of what might have happened if the government had refused. Well, we all know what happened. Wall Street and banks are doing fine. They’re back to the same old tricks while Main Street is still on its back side. Ask yourselves. Who exactly gets the most from government?
The answer to our problem of deficit spending is simple. It must stop and even I can see that increased taxes AND reduced government spending are called for.
But please, don’t come asking me to vote for a program that calls for increased taxes on the bottom 47 percent and further tax breaks for the top 53 percent. Taxes have already been reduced to an all-time low and it has done no good whatsoever.
What is appropriate is a bipartisan legislative agenda that will work. Insist that Congress work for the people and not corporate America. Lock lobbyists out of the process. They have already done enough damage.
Wake up, America, smell the coffee. Vote out every single incumbent. They’ve been co-opted into the corrupt system that is the big part of the problem.
David Browning
Peachtree City, Ga.
